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The Invention of Somalia
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265 pages, Hardcover
First published March 28, 1995
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
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July 9, 2022An eclectic set of academic essays about Somalia that dive into preexisting academic debates about historiography on the country. By no means the first book you should read about Somalia or Somali culture but gives an interesting background and also is very popular among many Somalis themselves. I.M. Lewis the famous Somalist is taken down a few notches by Somali scholars who accuse him of orientalism.
February 17, 2020
An excellent collection of essays on Somalia. As the title alludes to Mudimbe's famous "The Invention of Africa" these essays works set about to refute many of the misconceived notions surrounding Somalia and Somalis. Many enlarged egos of previous Somalicists (i.e. I.M. Lewis) are subsequently brought down to a critical stance.
Subjects such as history, contemporary politics, feminism, and of course linguistics are all given some much needed light by a variety of experts.
This is a book that should be a must read for anyone interested in the country or in the relevant topics explored.
Subjects such as history, contemporary politics, feminism, and of course linguistics are all given some much needed light by a variety of experts.
This is a book that should be a must read for anyone interested in the country or in the relevant topics explored.
January 5, 2014
I've read a bit about Somalia, though not all that much. Considering that, this may be the wrong book to read. Not because it's uninteresting, but because it's in a way a reaction to (then) current scholarship and a pointer towards further research.
The book is a collection of papers presented at different conferenses. They range from discussions on history, clans, origins, language, gender issues and more, and though they introduce their aim clearly enough, I feel I would have benefited from a more thourough pre-understanding.
The papers themselves are mostly interesting, and they are thought-provoking as well. The reason for the rethink, and the conferenses seems to be the collapse of the Somali state in 1991, something that took most people (as well as scholars) by surprise. How could such a homogenous nation-state, both ethnically and religiously, just fall apart?
The answers given are that Somalia and the Somali people never were as homogenous as they have been presented. The nomadic clans have "monopolized" the story of Somalia, and their oral history have been accepted at face value. This has meant that the rest of Somalia - the agrarians, those living in cities and by the sea - have had their history neglected. Furthermore, the stories collected are mainly collected by men from men, and the female side of the story has been forgotten.
This collection of papers tries to remedy that a little bit, by pointing out the previous errors (percieved of real) and pointing to new avenues for research. Well worth reading, if Somaila interests you.
The book is a collection of papers presented at different conferenses. They range from discussions on history, clans, origins, language, gender issues and more, and though they introduce their aim clearly enough, I feel I would have benefited from a more thourough pre-understanding.
The papers themselves are mostly interesting, and they are thought-provoking as well. The reason for the rethink, and the conferenses seems to be the collapse of the Somali state in 1991, something that took most people (as well as scholars) by surprise. How could such a homogenous nation-state, both ethnically and religiously, just fall apart?
The answers given are that Somalia and the Somali people never were as homogenous as they have been presented. The nomadic clans have "monopolized" the story of Somalia, and their oral history have been accepted at face value. This has meant that the rest of Somalia - the agrarians, those living in cities and by the sea - have had their history neglected. Furthermore, the stories collected are mainly collected by men from men, and the female side of the story has been forgotten.
This collection of papers tries to remedy that a little bit, by pointing out the previous errors (percieved of real) and pointing to new avenues for research. Well worth reading, if Somaila interests you.
January 14, 2014
So i've just started reading this book and i have to say OMG the language and the writing is so ambiguous, i find myself going back and forth rereading it. I feel like it should have been a bit simplified, its too academic i was expecting it to be a bit historical and flowy lol (i don't know what i was expecting) Nonetheless i shall proceed to read on, i would have also really liked to find Ali Jimaale's bio data on here, find out more on my dedicated brethren.
May 29, 2014
It is a good book
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews